Packs and Dominance
by Sullii
Summary: When Allan goes to see Mercedes, we know little about him. Who he is, where we came from, and why he came to Washington. All we know is that he was experimented on by scientists. Now join us as we go into the middle of the pack, and into a war for answers
1. Capture

**Chapter One:** Capture

"N-No…Not now—Not again…" I said as I clutched my head with my hands, my soft hazelnut hair sticking out through the cracks between my fingers. It was that time again, the full moon. I closed my eyes as the change began, and I growled in pain. The worst thing that could happen is to have to be turned into a werewolf every full moon. I took a stumble of a step forward, thinking that that might prevent or slow down what was going to happen, but it did not do a thing.

The Full Moon was enclosed by silver light—actually, more of another circle around the moon. Clouds of fluff floated in front of the ball of dust and dirt. The Dark sky acted as an accent on the bright moon; the stars looked like little flashlights to guide the way for lost travelers. The trees, dark and gloomy, were whistling high pitched screams of excitement as they watched from above. The wind began to pick up and the trees swayed from side-to-side.

My feet became more elongated and my toenails were sharpened to a point, my nose became a muzzle, and along my nose was a white stripe, and my body became engrossed in black fur. The human ears now went to an extreme point, and my teeth became as sharp as a knife. The whites of my eyes became more of a yellowish tint, and the hazel iris became black. My clothes where lying in shreds from the change on the ground in the dirt next to me. The Change was complete.

The smell of my own new odor as a werewolf was rather rancid , and being a new werewolf, I wasn't very fond of the idea of my odor changing. Among other things to get used to, you have to walk on four legs, not two, so it's like crawling. I hate to crawl.

Being as adjusted as I would ever get as a wolf, I started off on a journey through the night.

When I awoke in the morning, I heard two voices talking to each other about a way to force 'the change' in another room from me. I only heard part of the conversation, so it was more of a guess than a set-in-stone answer. Silver barred doors enclosed me into a cage…I could hardly move. The cage seemed like it was for a large dog, not a human. The men were talking, but everything was like a record being played at the slowest speed possible.

"…Found him last night…" One voice said, the voice echoed in my ear.

"….Yeah, he should do the trick…" another man said, this time, laughing slightly to himself.

"….I got the drugs right here…" the other voice said.

A metal door swung open with a squeak of disapproval. Feet clattered softly against the tiled flooring. It sounded like the two men that were talking, I only knew of two other people in here but me, and I heard four clicks. A man in a black silk suit walked up behind a man in a tailored leather jacket. The man in the suit was had a briefcase in his right hand, he handed it to the other man, who opened it, to reveal a needle. The man in the leather jacket took it out, and walked toward me. I put my hands on the silver bars, and put my face up to them. They were cold. I growled and lashed out at the man's hand that was holding the needle—to no prevail.

The last thing I remember is growling at the man, and trying to bite his hand before the needle was put in my arm. Then the room began to blur and then it went black as my eyes closed from exhaustion. My hands slid down to the bottom of the cage, and my head fell to the ground, landing face first.


	2. Escape

**Chapter Two:** Escape

I awoke to the screaming and hollering of a young female voice. My head was pounding, and the screaming wasn't helping. I squinted as my eyes tried to adjust to the bright, fluorescent lighting. _Those two men—they must have moved me into another cage._ This new cage I was in was a little bigger than the last one; I at least had more room to move around.

The silver bars next to mine squeaked as they opened, and a young girl with red hair, probably 16 or so was shoved into the small quarters.

"Get your friggin' hands off me you piece of filth!" she yelled as she put her hands out and landed on her knees to break her fall. Her long red hair lightly caressed her cheeks as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

"Why am I here?" she yelled toward the man in the silk suit, her eyes filled with anger and fear.

"You are here to help us with an experiment," he said.

"What experiment?" she yelled.

"It's—," he said.

"About the change," I interrupted.

"Yes, about the change, we are trying to find out if we can force someone to change into their wild wolf half."

The girl's hands began to shake. "Let me out of here—" The girl said in a soft almost inaudible tone. "I said, Let me out of here!" she said in a louder tone, now almost yelling.

"Now-Now—we can't have you go running off and telling people what were doing here now can we?" The silk suited man said, tilting his head slightly.

The girl smiled. "You'll have to find out if I will tell or not, if you let me out," The girl's voice trailed off.

The man turned to her, and smiled back, "Not a chance."

The second man in the leather jacket was now in a tightly fitted t-shirt, which showed the bulk werewolves are known for. He had a small needle in his hand with a greenish pale color liquid in it.

_I didn't hear him come in, where'd he come from? _

"Now you will see what really happens when man creates the superior beast," the blonde man in the suit said.

There was a slight pause before anyone said anything.

"Boss, are you sure about this?" the other man asked.

"Just do it."

The man in the tight shirt t-shirt nodded, then grabbed the girls arm, and stuck the needle in. He pushed the plunger down, and the green liquid went down slowly through the barrel, then to the hub into the needle and then to the girl's arm. The insertion spot was raised from the fluid going in; it looked like a small wad of gum sticking under her skin.

Either she didn't like needles, or that stuff they were putting in her really burned because she screamed really loud. I think anyone in a quarter of a mile radius could hear her.

When the barrel of the syringe was empty, he pulled the needle out, and stepped back.

The man looked at his boss, who was still looking at the girl, and then he shifted his attention towards me. He walked a few steps to the right to stand in front of my holding cage.

"You stay away from me," I said in a stern voice. "I wanted nothing to do with you."

"Don't be so hostile Allan," The man in the silk suit said. "You've been here once before, don't you remember?"

I shook my head.

"Yes, we held you here while we did tests to find a way to force a werewolf to change; you were the first person, the one who we developed this drug from. It's all thanks to you," he said with a smile.

"Shut up," I said angrily. "I hate you."

"Hate is such a strong word boy," he said.

I growled at him.

"Take a break," he said his voice softer than before, almost kind. "I will come and see you later."

With that, he and his other pack member left the room.

"H-hey, are you ok? I'm going to get us out of here," I said to the wall of the cage, intended for the girl in the cage next to mine.

There was silence in the room except for the soft breathing of two bodies, wait—make that one…

My nerves were bouncing off a wall; I didn't know what to do. First, I had gotten myself captured, then drugged, and now, a girl was practically on her deathbed next to me. With the days of this months' full moon drawing near, I was at a loss.

I looked at the hinge of the cage, and it was _just_ what I was hoping it would be. A hinge I could remove and pop off. I reached into my pocket. I had my house key, a penny, and a pencil from work. It was not the most efficient items to try to break out of an iron cage, but it would do.

I took the penny, and put it up to the crack between the bolt and the welded piece of metal that you would put the bolt through, and pushed. The bolt move up a little bit. Now, I could use the house key to put force upon the top right hand corner of the cages' door. It was a tight fit, but it worked. The door began to bend outwards. Seeing this, I put my back up against the back wall of the cage, and kicked the door with my feet. After a few kicks, the door fell to the floor with a satisfying _crash_. I hopped down from the cage. My knees were swollen, from kneeling, and it hurt to walk.

I walked over to the cage next to mine, and did the same thing; the door flew back against the cages behind me with a thunk. She was free. I just had to get past the two men out beyond the door. I reached into the cage and picked her up. I didn't know what it was, but there was a feeling I had for this girl, I just knew I couldn't let her die here.

_There has to be another way out!_ I glanced around. Cages were all across the walls, but in the middle, there was one window just big enough to fit through.

I stumbled over to the window, nearly losing my balance. I put the girl down gently, resting her back against the cages; I slid the window open, and popped out the screen. It wasn't that far to the ground from where I was, maybe four feet high. I picked up the girl, and put her on the ground outside, her back sliding against the side of the building. Once I was outside, I took her in my arms again and ran towards the woods as fast as my tired legs would take me.


	3. Welcome to Kennewick

Chapter 3: Welcome To Kennewick

**Chapter 3**: Welcome To Kennewick

I had been walking for who knows how long at this point, and I was exhausted. My knees looked like tennis balls, and they felt like they were on fire. I needed a break. I looked around. Normally the woods would have something to rest on like a fallen tree branch or a giant rock, but not in this neck of the woods. Most of the woods were not even woods at all, they were clearings and streams and a bunch of ferns. Some of the clearings were nice though, surrounded by a ring of trees around the outside like the secret service protecting the President. It almost made them look important, sacred.

I was standing in the middle of Montana's woods, and I was injured. I looked around, hoping for what I needed to rest on. I scanned the perimeter around me. I spotted something. About a third of a kilometer ahead of me came the sound of a waterfall, the powerful water crashing violently against the shallow waters below, and the trickling of the water off, of what sounded like, rocks.

I laughed with nervous excitement and relief, and walked as fast as I could without physically breaking something in my sore, overused legs. By the time I got within visual distance of the waterfall, the water was reflecting the furious rays of sunlight casted above. A giant bolder sat directly in the middle of the waterfall's flowing path, causing the water to diverge to the left and right sides of the rock.

I put the girl down on a pile of pine needles, and shuffled over to the water, to try to get a handful of water to drink. The water was like an ice cube in the middle of summer, so cold and refreshing, it felt good against my sore skin.

I closed my eyes and just let the water wash over my insides, cleansing me of my thirst.

My father always told me that if I were to get lost by a stream, I was to follow it because it would eventually lead to civilization. I decided to see if that was true or not. I finished drinking the water and wiped my mouth with my sleeve, then wiped my hands of my thighs. I picked the girl up, almost falling to my knees, and began to slowly make my way down stream.

Nightfall came faster than normal. One minute I was walking along the stream in broad daylight, then it just got dark, in what felt like a half hour. I swear, if that keeps up, I do not think I will be able to get out of here without dying, or getting darn close to it.

I decided to call it a night, and lay down on a rather large flat rock.

I was almost asleep when a 4x4 truck came soaring down the dirt road a little to my right, with its engine blaring, with the sound of my savior.

Since yesterday, I have been driving with an old truck driver that has traveled across the entire United States, and knows every nook and cranny. Roads are something he knew like the back of his hand. Now with the sun just rising above the trees, I began again towards my goal of being with other people for the first time in a long time.

Driving saves more time then walking, and before I knew it, we were halfway into Idaho. The man didn't talk much, but he loved his country music. If I was not a were—

Whatever I am, I would like to be a landscaper, or a mechanic.

" Hey sonny, I can only take you to the border of that there Washington, I have other stops to make." he said, his long brown beard hanging down to his collar bone. The man looked to be in his forties or fifties, with the checkered red and brown shirt, with a white undershirt that had a very dark stain right on the center of the man's chest. The stain was accompanied by a few weeks of dirt.

The man slowed his truck as he began to pull off the exit, and back into traffic to get to the gas station. He said this was as far as he could take me, and handed me a ten-dollar bill. I thanked him, took the girl, and began my way into the Tri-Cities of Washington.

About four hours after the truck driver dropped me off; I had about three dollars and twenty-five cents left, and a full stomach. I walked on the side of the road, and followed the curve. Around the curve, a green sign in big white letters stared me in the face. It read: "'Welcome to Kennewick of the Tri-Cities.'"

Finally—after so long, I got to The Kennewick General Hospital.

Once I checked the girl in and filled out the paper work, I headed off to find a job.


	4. Mercy Thompson

Chapter 4: Mercy Thompson

**Chapter 4**: Mercy Thompson

It had been a few days before I even got word about were some jobs might be. Even though I was under age, one person offered me a job. It was Thompson's garage, a small place in the Eastern part of Kennewick.

Monday rolled around, and I headed off into the city of Kennewick. In the words of the Native Americans, Kennewick means "grassy place." Which I was told about by Mercedes, the owner, when I asked her about some of the history of the city.

" For a long time, this community and others around the world had something called Fae, and they had higher people who told them what to do, and they were known as The Gray Lords." She explained, "But just a few years ago, they were forced to come out of hiding and show themselves to the public."

"Ah." I replied.

She looked at me curiously. "Hey kid, what do you want me to call you anyway? Do you have a name, or do you want me to just call you 'hey kid'?"

I thought for a minute. I knew that I could not tell her my real name, because then she would ask where I was from.

"Mac," I said.

I do not think she believed that that was my real name, but she went along with it anyway.

"O.k. Mac," she said in a light tone.

"You can call me Mercedes, or Mercy, whichever you like."

"Could you do me a favor?" she asked, "There's a number by the phone, and I need you to call that number and tell the people their car is ready."

I nodded, and headed for the saloon type doors in the back of the garage.

"Uh Mac, the office is over there." She said as she pointed to a red door on the left wall of the garage.

"Hehe right." I laughed as I turned on my heels to go to the red door. The door was a rather old looking door, made of wood, and showed some wear and tear. Rust was beginning to build up on the front of the doorknob, giving the door an even older look.

I opened it, and it objected with a squeak. I walked inside the office and over to the phone.

The desk where the phone was located was cluttered with piles of papers that needed to be put away and sorted. I could hardly even get to the phone. A giant 500-page catalog of auto parts lay on top of it.

Once I moved the catalog, and made the phone call, I went back and told Mercy that I had to leave. She said she's see me whenever, and I said thanks for the pay, and the shower.

She smiled as I left, then I did not see her for a few days.


	5. Revealed

Chapter 5: Revealed

**Chapter 5**: Revealed

"Who are you?" I asked in a quivering voice. "Get away from me!"

I had been staying in one of the cars Mercy had been working on for a customer; it was a van painted to look like the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo.

The sun had not risen yet, and the streetlight filtered in through the black windows.

Two men were standing in front of me, one had a gun pointed at my head, and the other was leaning over me with a needle.

"HELP!" I yelled.

I yelled again, but no response except from the man with the gun.

"Stop yelling and come with us unless you want your brain scattered all over the pavement!" the man with the gun yelled as he waved the gun behind him, his black hair bouncing a bit when he did so.

"No! I won't come with you!" I replied in a scared tone.

"Why can't you? You don't have anything here," he said.

"I have a job."

This came as a surprise to the men. "Oh really, where?" the man with the needle asked.

I pointed to the garage. "There."

"No one would employ you, you nothing! A Nobody!" The man with the gun yelled at me.

"Get off me!" I demanded to the man with the needle. "Or else."

"Or else what?" he asked. He obviously thought I wasn't being serious.

I knew Mercy was working late tonight, and she had access to the phone and police.

What I did not know is, if she had already left to go home yet.

I closed my eyes, and one of the men now had the gun pointed at the roof of the van.

"Hello?" I asked, "Who's there?"

In the blink of an eye, a Coyote had one of the men pinned down, it's mouth closed down on the man's throat. Blood poured onto the pavement around the struggling body. The coyote didn't seem to care that it was protecting me more than killing the bloody corpse twitching beneath it.

The man with the gun was the only one of the two men left standing. He decided he was going to try to save his dying job partner. He aimed the barrel of the gun at the back of the coyote's head and unleashed several clips.

The shots rang in my ears as he fired them off one after another. The coyote was started by the noise and ran off to the right off were it was.

The man's gun jammed, and he swore profusely, then began to chase after the coyote; leaving me unguarded.

I made up my mind. I had to go to the garage and find Mercy. She had left the lights on, and her coat and keys were on top of a customer's car. I walked over to the car, and picked up her coat and keys. I started to walk towards the office when a bloody Mercy walked through the garage door.

"Mercedes, what the hell happened to you?" I asked in a worried but curious tone.

She smiled, blood dripping from her mouth down her neck and soaking into her shirt. "_I'm_ fine it's the guy two guys in the parking lot that are having trouble." She said.

Then it dawned on me, Mercy was there, she saw the whole thing! Mercedes gave me a head tilted look.

"Mac, what's up, it looks like you've seen a ghost." She joked.

"Well, I don't really know what happened." I explained. "There was a coyote that killed two guys that cornered me with a gun and a needle, probably full of drugs of some sort."

She chuckled.

"I can explain part of that." She said to me still a little humored.

"You see, I am what is known as a Walker, which is something similar to a werewolf, but I am not ruled by fazes of the moon, and I don't get the dire need to hunt as badly either."

"I don't understand what you mean by 'walker'." I said

"Well, here, I'll show you." Mercy told me, "Just stay where you are. This might take a few minutes."

She began to walk toward the office door when she called back and said, "Don't worry about the noises either; it might take me a few minutes to get under control of my wolf half."

After a few minutes, a medium sized coyote about thirty pounds came stalking up to where I stood. Its whitish gray coat was accented with a tint of red markings around its muzzle. White and gray I noticed, intermixed with black as the coat of fur reached the end of the neck area, and continued down towards the tail, which spread out like the old duster my grandmother had on a stick.

The coyote was not much smaller than I am if I was to lie down on my back, and it was to lie down on its stomach. I thought that they would be bigger.

"Mercy?" I asked, as if not sure if this was really happening.

The coyote wagged its tail in recognition of its name.

"My God!" I exclaimed, "This is absolutely amazing!"

Mercy rolled over on to her stomach, and stood up briskly.

"What is it?" I asked as I took a step to stand at her side. Mercy was growling like crazy, her ears were perked back, and her teeth were clenched and showing.

I began to hear footsteps coming from outside the building, and walking towards us. In the not-so-far away distance, I heard what sounded like a Vortec 5300 V8 engine opening up on the road just behind the shop.

Now, I really am nervous. The last time I heard one of those, it ended up being trouble. I hope I'm wrong.


	6. Alpha

Chapter 6: Alpha

**Chapter 6**: Alpha

With the Vortec 5300 Engine out of hearing distance, Mercy began to settle down. The footsteps from around the back of the building were now hearable by the garage door, and just in front of the window. The door was already open slightly from were the blood covered Mercy walked in an hour or so before. The streetlight's luminescent glow was interrupted by the large shadow of a man, probably about six foot three. His features were concealed by the shadows streaming across his face. He paused slightly at the door before pushing it open to the point where he could walk in.

When he came into the shop-light, his figure was revealed, along with most of his masculine features. He walked up to me and paused before telling Mercy to back down. Then he turned to me, and asked questions.

"What's going on here?" he asked in a low, calming tone, pointing a finger to the puddle of blood that was in the doorway.

"I-I don't know, Mercy came back all bloody n' stuff." I said a little nervously, my voice shaky.

"I need to talk to her before we take care of this, you need to go to the other room."

I nodded, and walked out of the garage.

From the outside of the garage, I could barely hear voices; let alone what was being said. Every few minutes, I could hear the man raise his voice, and his words were a little clearer. " No Mercy, it isn't safe here for a new wolf like this to be on his own without guidance!"

Then everything quieted down out of hearing except for occasional words.

The conversation lasted what seemed like a half hour or an hour before they let me back into the garage area. Mercy was the first to talk to me.

"Mac, I have arranged for you to stay with the Alpha," she said as she pointed to the tall man. "He will take care of you, just like he took care of me when I was in his pack. He doesn't live to far from me, so I can check up on you regularly."

Going with this man was not one of my highest priorities, but I was not one to go and question authority.

I nodded my head and walked over to Mercy and thanked her for her hospitality, and then proceeded to the man's side.

"Thanks Adam." Mercy said as she waved me goodbye.

"Don't mention it." Adam said in a calm tone. "I will call Elizaveta, and have her clean up this mess."

With that, Adam and I walked out of the shop to leave Mercy to close up for the night.

It was not long before we pulled up in front of a mansion-sized house, with two red banisters going from porch level to the roof. The Brown colored paint was reflecting the light from the lamps in the house, making the house look even bigger. There were thirty to forty cars parked around the house. That aroused a question.

"Uhm, Adam?" I asked, "What's going on? What's with all of the cars?"

He laughed slightly before the smile on his face disappeared.

"We're having a pack meeting tonight, thus all the cars."


	7. Research the Answers

Chapter Eight: Research the Answers

**Chapter Eight**: Research the Answers

"It isn't like they don't know by know that we're looking for them. We've looked all over town, even the towns over the state border, and have found nothing but faint traces, and even then, we can't be sure." Adam said as he paced back and forth. He stood in sweatpants and a tight fitting white tee that showed his muscle mass. He'd been pacing contemplating this for about an hour, and it was starting to get on my nerves.

Mercy emerged from the kitchen to counter his contemplation. Her dark brown hair was like a raven waiting atop a high building; fierce, but beautiful. It wavered as she walked toward him. She stopped only to rest a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm him down. At that point, I walked briskly out of the room. I did not need to see this.

"But what if they haven't, I mean we haven't been that obvious about what we're after. Think about it, they could just be hiding." She reassured him.

"But it doesn't make sense. Why would they hide after making so many attempts to kill the boy? Why don't they finish what they started?

"I don't know. It does not make sense. I do not know why they try to get what they came for so many times, and then just stop so suddenly. Maybe something has interfered?"

"I don't think so, that doesn't seem right. Anyone with that much power would not just be cut off like this Mercy; there would be a reason to it."

"So what are you getting at?" She asked. "That we go and find their supplier and get answers or something? That does not sound likely. There are many medicinal suppliers here; we would never know were to start.

"I would start by looking in a four mile radius of their last attacking. If nothing shows up, then broaden your search. If hospitals do not have it, check pharmacies, even vets offices if you have to. Just find the answers."

She nodded and walked away without another word. She knew how far she could go with Adam, and she knew that now was not the time to agitate him. When she walked by the door, she waved to me, said goodnight, and gave warning to give him room for a while. I thanked her, saw her walk to her house, then made sure everything was ok.

I began to walk into the hallway to go upstairs when I heard a loud THUNK on the wall down stairs. I just told myself he was venting, and did not think anything more as I walked to my room.

He never calmed down, even at three o'clock in the morning. Adam was still up, doing something to calm himself. At one point, he was working out, at another he was reading on the sofa, and when I woke up, he was on the computer; probably researching something about the drugs.

I walked past him to the kitchen. The computer room connected the hall to my room and the kitchen. I grabbed something to eat, as well as a glass of water, then headed back.

When I was on my way back through, Adam said, " Hi Allan" without looking up from the screen, it gave me a weird feeling. The hall was dark, but I managed enough to get to the room without running into anything.

I ate my food, then crawled into bed. The sheets were warm against my cool skin. I took in a breath, and wondered briefly about Adam before drifting off to sleep.

The Morning came quickly, and I did not sleep well. When I walked down the hall, Adam was still sitting at the computer, now wearing flannel sleeping pants and a white tee shirt. Sitting toward the far right corner of the desk, a burning hot cup of Colombian Coffee with a good helping of milk and sugar Awaited his tasting. He always had his coffee like that, loaded with sugar. I continued to walk toward the kitchen, and two wolves came to greet me. They were cooking food, and I was hungry, so I thought I would stick around and see what I could do to help. The food was cooked, no thanks to me—I mean, I am a lousy cook anyway.

We ate the food with relatively no chatter. When we were finished, we put the dishes in the sink, seconds before Mercy walked in the door.

* * *

The van drove a little shaky. After what he had been told, he had to push the van to its limits. It was only a matter of time before they came after the boy again, he knew that much, and with that in mind, he push the pedal to the floor even harder. The van flew past exit sign after exit sign before the driver noticed the sign for Kennewick. When he saw that he had an hour to go, he cursed. He told himself he was not going to make it by deadline, but you could bet he was going to try.

Town was empty, at least to him it was. He knew where the house was, so he drove down the fifth street to his left, from there followed his nose. He was a Werewolf. His name, Samuel. He pulled up to the trailer next to Adam's house at deadly speed, hitting the curb before he stopped. The door swung open as he lunged out to tell Mercy what he knew about the situation. He started down the path before going back to shut the door.

* * *

Mercy placed her coat on the table and said her greetings before informing us that we were going to have an unexpected visitor tonight. She also told us that he was a doctor, and that she had done research on the drugging they used on Allan.

"It's a veterinary drug, and that's basically all I have found out." She explained, "The name is DSMO, or Dimethyl Sulfoxide."

Everyone including me looked at he with puzzlement.

She sighed. "I'll have the doctor explain it to you, maybe then you'll understand it."

We had no argument there.

The doorbell rang. Everyone in the house turned in anxious curiosity of our guest; to wait for what he had to say.

Adam braced himself from the computer chair, and stumbled toward the front door, mumbling as he went. He was not dressed for company. Nobody was but Mercedes. Everyone else was in PJ's.

The door opened, and a small gust of cold air filtered throughout the house. It felt good on his face, woke him up a bit. He'd need it, he could tell.

* * *

"Hello—Is Mercy Here?" The Man asked.

" Yeah, she's inside. Come in" Adam said promptly.

"Thank you."

He closed the door just after the man walked into the lobby. Adam looked him over silently. Tall. Clean cut. Short hair, yet stylish; and proper. He was fine. Nothing jumped out about him. Then he took a breath in, and noticed, to his surprise, that he had just let another wolf into his house. HIS territory, and didn't realize it until now? He could get killed if this turned into a dominance match. Shit. Not what Allan needs.

"Well, long time no see Mercedes," the man said as he walked up to the kitchen. He looked at her, and offered a hug, which she took gratefully. She gave him a peck on the cheek as her hello.

"Yes, it has been a while hasn't it Sam?" She laughed, "Where are you hiding these days?"

"Nowhere you'd want to be, let's leave it at that."

"Bran giving you trouble again?"

"Yeah, in a sense, he keeps wanting me to go back home, but I don't want to."

"He'll never change." She told him, "So anyway, let me introduce you to everybody."

"I would love it." He replied.

"Well, you've already met Adam; he's the alpha here for the local pack. Warren and Darren are at the store, they should be back soon. This one here is Allan." She said as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hello Allan, My name is Samuel Cornik. I believe I have figured out some key pieces of information about your attackers, and that is why I am here." Sam said.

"Nice to meet you; anything at this point will help…I just don't want to die."

"And that is why we called a meeting here tonight with Mr. Cornik here." Adam chimed in.

" Well let's get going shall we?" Sam asked, "Unless you have other matters of business that need attendance beforehand?"

"No, No go ahead, proceed." Adam said, giving him the floor.

"Well ok then."

"The drug they used is called DSMO, or Dimethyl Sulfoxide if you want to get technical," he began, " it has many uses as a pain killer and anesthetic for surgery, and things of that sort. Now why they're using it in this context I haven't the slightest idea. I am having some of it tested for underlying chemicals and contents I may not be aware of."

"So how common is it?" Adam asked, "Could I get some if I wanted it?"

"No, only medical personnel can get their hands on this type of thing. I can get some if I wanted to through my veterinary practice. I would just have to order it. Other than that though, yes, I suppose if you knew the right people, you could get your hands on some. It isn't impossible."

"So these people after Allan are not necessarily in the medical field?" Mercy asked.

"No, they were, they had to have been. You need a medical license to get it. Plus depending on what I find in the drug, like a paralyzer or something, it would tell us where they practice medicine."

"So when will you know?" Adam asked while glancing over at Mercedes.

"I won't know for another few hours. The drug test will take time. I will inform you when I get more information."

"O.k, sounds good." Mercy said, " I was just about to eat dinner Sam, you can join me if you want."

"Why thank you Mercy for the kind gesture," Sam said as he kissed Mercy on the cheek. "I will take you up on that offer. I haven't eaten all day."

They walked out of the house and down the path to her house. I sat and watched as the door closed behind them before leaving the kitchen area. The others left already and were watching T.V and doing other various activities when I emerged.

"We'll get to the bottom of this Allan; it may just take some time." Warren said from the couch. He stood to walk up to me. "You are brave for what you have done. Go and rest; we will get you when we're ready."

I did not argue. I was tired from the lack of sleep last night. I walked to my room and fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

The phone rang. It was loud. She wondered if he was loosing his hearing. He sighed, and reached over to the phone sitting on the side-table. He flipped it open and answered without looking who it was.

"What can you tell me?" He asked.

"Hello to you too Samuel." The voice replied. "We have some results that might catch your interest."

"O.K, tell me."

"Well, within the Dimethyl Sulfoxide, we found the reduced content of silver. If this silver is ever bonded with the DSMO, it would be deadly to those with an allergic reaction to silver; Y'know like werewolves or something. It would kill them with a big enough dosage."

"That isn't good." Sam replied, "How did the silver get there?"

"I don't know. I do know that it is a good thing we caught it know and not later. We think we know who did this to the Dimethyl Sulfoxide though. There is a retired veterinary doctor in Montana that ordered some of this stuff in massive quantities; the illegal size. I would advise you to check it out."

"O.k, thank you for the update. Keep me posted if you find anything more."

With that, he hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door. Mercedes was still cleaning up after dinner. She never knew he left.

The bell rang again at the house. Adam went to the door to let the guest in. Samuel stood straight in a leather jacket and jeans; patiently waiting to be let in.

"I have news. Let me in." Sam demanded.

"Right this way _sir_," Adam said as he stepped aside.

Samuel walked in with haste. He threw his jacket on the couch and began talking, almost like we were listening.

"The Dimethyl Sulfoxide had traces of silver in it. It could kill any of you it comes into contact with depending on the dosage."

"Wow. That is wicked gay." I said, "They could have killed me with the injection?"

"Yes, they could have." Sam said, "We need to find the man responsible for this. He is supposed to be somewhere in Montana. The sooner we find him, the better."

"We'll set out in four hours then. I will not wait another day for him to kill someone else when we can prevent it now." Adam scowled.

We left late; somewhere near midnight. I was tired; and was not looking forward to the drive. We pulled onto the highway in a flock of fifteen cars. We are ready for a battle…but is he?


	8. An Error in Route: Part One

** Chapter Eight**: An Error in Route

Chapter 9: Part one

When the thought of driving to Montana arose into the pack meeting, I figured that it would not be that big of a deal. I never thought that a road trip would cause commotion so vigorously! We weren't even an hour away from Kennewick when the pack was at each other's necks with threats.

The fifteen cars, all packed with at least two pack members flew down the highway to branch off the exit to a stop.

Something was wrong.

The cars stopped in a giant mass right off the side of the exit ramp. Blinkers flashed, and horns of passerby flared through the air. One by one the cars emptied. Angry Wolves stood next to me now. We needed to move before things went south.

"Adam, why'd we stop?" I asked curiously.

"Something isn't right, it shouldn't be like this."

"What shouldn't? The fact that we're stopped with about 55 other wolves on the side of the road?! I know this!"

"No. Not that. The route we're taking is to mainstream. We need to take other roads as to not be so detectable." He explained.

The pack members talked amongst themselves quietly. Mercedes and the Scooby Do van pulled up behind us.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she had parked, "Why'd we stop?"

"He says we're on the main roads too much and we should change our path of travel." I explained. I rubbed my hair with my hand, "We need food too, and I'm getting hungry."

It took awhile, but Mercedes and Adam eventually talked out a semi detailed plan of action for the day. Adam wasn't pleased. He walked past me briskly and walked past the cars.

Mercy turned to me. "Don't worry about him, he's just upset." She explained.

"There's a pizza place down the road on the next exit. We'll stop there before continuing the trip. Afterwards, we continue on Highway to Montana, whether he likes it or not." She said as she pointed to Adam.

So we drove. We got the food and continued on the roads to Montana.

"Some more Sulfoxide came in boss." The tall man said, "You want it taken care of?"

"No," he responded, his voice deep and raspy. " I will take care of it myself."

"Are you sure boss?" The man asked, " I could take care of it for you no problem…."

"I will take care of it myself. You may go now. I'll call if I need you again."

"Yes sir," the man said before bowing to his superior and walking to the door. "Thank you, sir." The door closed with a click, and he was alone at last.

There was one light that lit the room. It hung off center in front of the door. Its light casting shadows all around the walls. The man stood in the far left corner of the room staring up slightly towards the ceiling. He couldn't mess this up. There was no way. Sitting on a table in the center of the room was the box of which held the powerful drug. He walked towards it, and then stopped before picking it up. Thoughts crossed his mind about his actions and such consequences that may come to haunt him if he were to follow through. He had no choice, and he knew it. He had to kill the boy, even if it meant killing others in the process.

He grabbed the box and held it between his arm and torso and proceeded to walk out the door. Nothing was left. There was no turning back now, for there was nothing to go back to—except the empty room without purpose.

As the noon sun hit its highest point, the man rushed through traffic, dodging potential accidents with little room to spare. He was mad—crazy mad, and nothing was to get in his way. He was a man on a mission, and had every intention of completing his mission. Halfway to downtown, his phone rang. It was the theme song to Scrubs, he didn't answer. By the forth repeat, he flipped the phone open and answered it with agitated emotion.

"Yes? What do you want? I'm very busy!" He yelled.

"Sorry to interrupt you sir, but we have confirmed that the deadline has moved up three hours. The buyer is waiting for you as we speak." The man replied.

"What? God Damnit! There is no way I can make it there in such a time frame. Tell him he'll have to wait. I'll be there in two hours."

"Not possible sir,"

"What do you mean NOT POSSIBLE? If he's this desperate, then he can wait." He yelled, "Besides, he doesn't need us to get this, he could go somewhere else I swear!"

"Yes that's true, he could. But he doesn't want to."

"Why the hell not?"

"He wants you—He trusts you." The man said.

"Unbelievable!"

The second half of the ride I decided to go with Samuel and Mercedes. To me, it seemed to be a better idea. If anything was going to make the ride fun, it was Samuels serenading. We drove for about a half an hour before Mercy pulled to the side of the road. She looked at Sam in the rear view mirror.

"Can we switch? I'm kind of tired of driving."

"Sure," Sam said reluctantly. "No problem, go rest for a while. Allan and I can keep each other company."

Mercy smiled at Samuel before crawling into the back of the Scooby-Doo van. To her surprise it was roomy and clean with limited clutter. I stayed back there when I had no shelter. I made a bed out of a mattress I found, and a sweatshirt for a pillow, which the last I knew was still back there.

Within minutes we were situated with Mercy in back, and Sam and I in front. Right before we pulled out Sam hesitated a little. He leaned back and asked: "You ready back there?" Like three times. When she responded he pulled back onto the road to catch up to the rest of the group.

There was a pause of awkward silence before I struck up conversation with Sam.

"I've always wondered what would happen if the world had no technology, if the inventors of electricity were never born, or if Tomas Edison never made the light bulb. We would have nothing today. We would be so primitive, what we would do for survival, transportation, or even entertainment, for it would change so drastically that it would be insane. I don't think half the population would make it if it were like that. Half the Werewolf's lived back when that was truth and what is today's reality was all but a dream"

He looked dumbfounded. "When did you think about that?" he asked curiously.

"About three weeks before I came to Kennewick. I had a history report on the evolution of technology, but when I got here, I noticed how the werewolves are," I replied, " it made me wonder what would happen seeming they had adapted so well to the environment. I mean think about it Sam, how do you think we would do if we had to survive like you guys?"

Sam laughed. I don't know if he took me seriously or not.

"You'd do fine, it would take time is all," he explained.

"Yeah, you're probably right," I said before yawning.

"I know I'm right."

The sunlight blackened before I could answer. My body was taken over by exhaustion, and I fell into another world, a dreamlike state.


	9. An Error in Route: Part Two

Chapter Nine: Part two

**Chapter Nine**: Part two

_The cobblestone streets were lined with people. Masses of crowds moved aside for stray horseman and carts. The firelight cast eerie shadows upon the town. I see buildings tall and wide. Trees line the edge of town with a sole road diverging the down the center. People carrying water moved fast to get away from commotion, and the off-chance that they spill their water. The lights dim. People move away, scattering to their sanctuary, the place of rest. A homeless man tattered and beat made home in a doorstep across the street. I wait and watch everyone leave. I am the last one here, the last voice of man for my town. What do I do?_

_Tell Me._

"_Go home boy," a voice said from behind me._

_I turned to realize that an old lady with fading red hair was standing behind me, basket in hand. She had a smile that was both warm and concerning. It was a smile that showed caring for others in her years of wisdom, but one that has seen death more than one should._

_I smiled as best I could. "Yes'm right away." _

"_You do not belong here! Go home to where you came from! This is not a place for someone like you!" She yelled as I ran towards a building._

_I turned before opening the door, only to smile to the lady. To my dismay, she was no longer standing on the sidewalk like before, but instead she was disintegrating into a cloud of mist._

_What was happening?_

_What was I doing here?_

_What was my purpose? _

_Was it destiny? _

_I had to find out…I walked in the door. Shadows danced fiercely around the walls, mocking me. I shut the door and took the lamp that always sat by the door on the wall. I lit it, and watched as heat and light emerged from the lamp. I was grateful. I took off my shoes. There were stairs leading up to the second floor of the building. I made myself a bed up there before crawling back down to sit in an old chair and wait for nightfall. The streetlights usually turned on twenty minutes before dark in Kennewick, so I assumed the opposite here. They had lights on from about five until eleven each night, but from nine to eleven they were dimmed._

_Nightfall came fast, and I was tired from the day. I walked to the door, locked it, and proceeded upstairs to the inviting bed._

_I woke to knocking on the door below me. I looked at the window. Sun high in sky, I sighed and dressed before walking downstairs._

_I opened the door. Sunlight streamed into the building like a river. I was greeted by a man with a beard and long black hair. He stood tall and proper. He waited me to acknowledge his presence. He held out his hand and greeted me. He said he knew who I was from an old town meeting days before. He said we had arranged a gathering today at eleven thirteen._

_I cursed. I had totally forgotten about the meeting._

"_I'm sorry! What time is it?" I asked._

"_It is eleven o' six right now." He replied._

"_I'm so sorry that I forgot. It was a long night." I explained._

"_It's quite ok, don't worry about it. I'm early anyways."_

"_Oh, Thank you," I replied. "Would you like something to eat?"_

"_Tea, Tea would be fabulous." The man replied._

_I nodded in acknowledgement to his request and headed off towards the kitchen area. The area of kitchen space was small, and unusable to most, and all of my situations except for making beverages. The counterpace was limited to the far wall, cut down because of a stove, and the stove worked on occasion, but it was hardly ever used._

_I reemerged from the kitchenette with the tea and water. The man smiled at me before taking the cup of water, adding the tea, and gulping down half the glass._

_When he was finished, he glance up at me with Cold eyes. The dark grey pools engulfing me to his words._

"I have something to warn you about son," He started, " Be warry of the one with red hair and purple robes. She is trouble. Do everything within your power to stay wayward of her."

_I looked confused. I had no idea what he was getting at._

"_Just heed my warning and do as I say. Otherwise something terrible will happen to you."_

_I froze. Realization hit me square in the face. I knew the lady I was being warned of, she stood on the sidewalk and told me to go home! What could this mean?!_

_The man continued to warn me about the lady, but my attention drifted elsewhere. I was so worried about his warning and what happened that I lost interest with what he was saying._

"_What would happen if I come in contact with this woman?" I asked, Terrified._

"_You will meet death well before you're time. Now do as I say and stay away from her."_

_I panicked now. "What do you mean?!" Is there anything I can do to prevent this?!"_

"_No, it is irreversible. One meeting is all that you will get." He explained, going back to his tea._

"_You need to go now. I have some things I have to take care of. I am sorry for this interruption in our meeting." I said._

_The man arose, and elegantly put the cup back onto the plate, and stood to head for the door. "We will continue this at a latter time."_

_He opened the door, sounds flooding inward from the streets outside. He closed it after checking both ways. Silence filled the room. _

_I sighed heavily and sat down on the couch._

_My thoughts raced inside my head. I couldn't let this happen!!_

_What am I to do?_

_What am I to do?_


	10. Reminesance: Part One

**Chapter 10**: Reminiscence: part one

I can honestly say, that at this point, I don't remember too much of the trip to Montana. Sleep is amazing. From what I hear from Samuel I didn't miss much. There was a car accident about ten minutes after crossing the border, and then there was a car chase two hours ago. Nothing that exciting.

"So did you sleep well?" Sam asked, "You didn't make a sound."

I looked at him confused. I stirred in my chair to get comfortable; I hate his van. I thought about his question and decided that there were only two answers to it: yes or no.

"I dreamt a lot, slept well I think though," I replied, "why?"

"I don't know," he said, "most of us haven't slept well since this whole thing started is all."

_Okay_

We drove for a while in silence. Sam asked if I was hungry. It was ten in the morning, and neither one of us had eaten since lunch the day before. We found a Mc Donald's and pulled into the drive-through.

After we ordered our food, and were back on the road, Sam began to ramble.

"This type of thing hasn't happened in years. The last time it did though, we were to late. Adam was furious. He swore that he would never let anyone else die in his hands. That is why he is so intent on finding out who did this to you."

His voice trailed off a bit before continuing.

"It was his fiancé, the one that died. Her name was Sara, she was the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen: long black wavy hair, about 5'6", and deep blue eyes. Adam was in love at first sight. They had a lot of plans those two—everything was set. From the wedding, to the house. But then "He" got to her, and "His" men got to her. Then she was drugged and tested…"

I froze.

They took her to an old abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere, and locked her up. Those bastards didn't allow her any freedom at all. They beat her daily, and used experimental drugs on her and left needle marks all along her body. They extracted her DNA, and fused it to create people like you; beasts. But that didn't last long. When Adam found out, he flipped, and almost killed everyone that got in his way. But when he got drunk one night, he called my father, the marrok and me to help him. We flew out the next available flight. My father is a man, not to be screwed with. Let me tell you……." He paused slightly to take a sip of coffee from Mc Donald's. "He regulates the movement of the packs in the United States. When he heard what had happened, he organized them into one place and began to plan a way top find Sara and her Captors. I've never been so scared of two men in my life."

I shifted in my seat. Sleeping, as necessary as it is, is not fun to do in a car. I always become stiff afterwards.

Sam continued talking without realizing I had lost interest half-way through.

"Word never got to them apparently. For when we got there….."

_POP!_

My ear began ringing like an old 1950's school bell. I raised my hand to my ear, and attempted to cease the ringing. No use.

"We had to go through at least eighteen people: ten guards, and eight scientists. It was a rather big building, at least bigger than what we thought. Adam wouldn't let anyone stop him from getting to Sara. He went berserk. None of the eighteen people could stop him on his way through the building. The biggest shock still, would have been when we saw Sara's condition."

The young girl flashed into my head as he continued.

"She was almost dead. That was obvious, you could tell just by looking at her. We didn't need medical personnel to tell us that. She was as white as a ghost, and she had needle marks all along her body. She was in the farthest corner of the building, in a room with one window, and an entire wall rigged with cages. I remember not liking the building much, it was dull. White walls, No furniture, nothing. There was one feature that stood out though. A giant metal door, most likely reinforced was the only way in, or out, of the room. _I_ Hated it. Adam though—shit; he was so made when he saw how she was treated. He broke her cage open, and then brought her to safety before giving her medical attention. When we went back, we had to do everything we could to keep him for killing the scientists."

"Sam, Stop the car," I said, "Pull over, and STOP THE CAR!!!"

He looked at me confused. "W-why, what's the matter?"

"Just do it."

He pulled the car over after he went though the traffic light.

"Allen, what's Going on?" he asked.

"I was there. At that building. Being tested on, drugged, tortured…"I said without making eye contact. "He's still alive"


End file.
